Former President Jimmy Carter Released From Hospital After Undergoing Brain Surgery

Former President Jimmy Carter was released from an Atlanta hospital on Wednesday two weeks after undergoing surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. In a statement the Carter Center, Carter’s humanitarian organization, it was announced that the 95-year-old had been discharged from Emory University Hospital and was to return home to Plains, Georgia, where he will spend Thanksgiving with family.

“He and Mrs. Carter look forward to enjoying Thanksgiving at home in Plains, where he will continue to recover,” the statement read in part. “The Carters are grateful for all the prayers, cards, and notes they have received and hope everyone will join them in enjoying a special Thanksgiving.”

The Carter Center had revealed in a statement on Nov. 11 that the 39th president, who served from 1977 to 1981, had been admitted to the hospital that evening “for a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain,” which was caused by bleeding due to a number of recent falls. At the time, he was said to be “resting comfortably,” with the procedure scheduled for the following day.

In a statement on Nov. 12, spokesperson stated that “there were no complications from the surgery,” and that Carter was “expected to remain at the hospital for observation.”

The procedure came just two weeks after the former president, the nation’s oldest living ex-president, fell and fractured his pelvis at his Plains, Georgia home. Carter had been “admitted to Phoebe Sumter Medical Center for observation and treatment of a minor pelvic fracture” and released shortly after to continue his recuperation at home.

The fall marked his second in just a month. In early October, the 95-year-old received 14 stitches above his left eye after suffering another fall in his Georgia home. He did not allow his injuries to postpone his public appearances, though, and he arrived in Nashville, Tennessee that same day, where he attended the opening ceremony for Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project.

In May, Carter underwent hip replacement surgery at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia after a fall.

Carter also battled cancer in his liver and brain and was declared cancer free in 2015.

Carter was president from 1977 to 1981 and served in World War II. Carter served as the Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and held a position as a Georgia State Senator for 14 years prior. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and has remained active in engaging in physical activities despite his age.